Liverpool to welcome back forgotten man for next fixture

Midfielder Adam Lallana is set to make a return to the Liverpool squad when the Reds take on Huddersfield Town in the Premier League after the international break, according to The Times.

The former Southampton star picked up a thigh injury on international duty with England last month in what has been a frustrating start to the campaign for him.

Having missed much of the 2017-18 season with a recurring hamstring problem, Lallana has played just three minutes of football for the Anfield outfit this term as a late substitute in the win over Crystal Palace back in August.

He opted to rule himself out of the Champions League trip to Napoli and home clash with Manchester City last week in order to fully recover from his latest knock.

And that means that manager Jurgen Klopp should have the playmaker available for three matches in the space of seven days, starting with the visit to the Terriers on October 20.

Following on from that, Liverpool take on Red Star Belgrade in Europe’s premier club competition, a game that has taken on greater significance after the late 1-0 loss in Italy.

They then round off a tough week with an encounter against newly-promoted Cardiff City on the Saturday.

With greater strength in depth at his disposal owing to a successful transfer window, Klopp has more opportunity to rotate his team as the fixtures pile up over the coming months.

On the flip side, Lallana may find game time even more difficult to come by, with new signings Naby Keita, Fabinho and Xherdan Shaqiri all vying for midfield places along with Jordan Henderson, James Milner and Georginio Wijnaldum.

His England team-mate Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is another name who should be in that hat, but a knee injury is expected to keep him out for the season.

Liverpool comfortably dispatched Huddersfield 3-0 in the corresponding match last season and will hope to do so again after a slight dip in form over recent weeks.

Whether Lallana is involved in some capacity remains to be seen and will likely be dictated by whether or not Klopp would rather hold him back for a run out against Red Star instead.

Writer at Ninety Minutes Online, lifelong Aston Villa fan and passionate about all things football. Based near Coventry, England and studied English Literature at the University of Essex for three years between 2011-2014.

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